It all hit first year Monrovia football coach Chris Williams this past weekend.

“I was just sitting back at home and then I realized that starting this week, it’s for real,” said Williams, who came to the Wildcats from Northview where he served as offensive coordinator. “We’ve done the 7-on-7 stuff, we’ve lifted in the weight room and now it all starts.”

With all the winds of change that swept through the program, many area fans forget this one undeniable fact – Monrovia enters the 2018 season as the defending Rio Hondo League champions.

“I like what I see in our players,” Williams said. “I see a lot of buzz in these kids.”

Williams inherited a talented squad that includes two Pasadena Star News First Team All-Area players in running back Maury Rams IV (5-10, 190) and two-way standout Frank Hernandez (6-3, 195).

Rams, who also named the Rio Hondo League Co-Offensive Player of the Year, rushed for 1,503 yards and 15 touchdowns.

“Maury has put in a ton of work in the offseason,” Williams said of Rams’ preparation for the upcoming season. “He is one of the humblest kids that I have ever worked with. He is just a great player that works hard.”

Hernandez (6-3, 195), who plays wide receiver and linebacker, is an important piece on Williams’ chess board that he plans on using on a regular basis.

“(Hernandez) is a walking mismatch,” Williams said. “When he decides to go full speed on a play, there is no one in this league that can cover him.”

Many observers in the area consider San Marino the team to beat. Longtime head coach Mike Hobbie welcomes back one of the top running backs in the area in his grandson Beau (5-7, 170). A first-team All Rio Hondo League selection, Hobbie rushed for 1,363 yards along with amassing 394 receiving yards. The Titans also return two of the top receivers in the area in seniors Sean Richardson (5-7, 150) and Wheeler Smith (6-2, 175).

At Temple City, third year coach Riley Saxon hopes to continue the momentum that was built from 2017, which saw his team improve their overall record from 2-8 in 2016 to 5-4.

Saxon made the decision early in the summer to start junior Alex Vera at quarterback. Vera will have the luxury of one of the top receivers in the area in senior Daniel Centeno (5-11, 160). Centeno, also a free safety, was named to last year’s Pasadena Star News All-Area First Team.

“Daniel is an awesome kid,” Saxon said. “He just loves football. He watches everything that is related to football, talks about it all the time and it has rubbed off on the players. He has also stepped up as a team leader.”

Other players to follow for the Rams include running back Samuel Jackimomicz (5-8, 140), defensive end Patrick Ekmekjian (6-1, 205) and linebacker Chris Alvarez (5-10, 195).

Jeff Chi also begins his third season at South Pasadena. Chi has one thing going for him that a lot teams in the league don’t, a returning starting quarterback.

“We look a lot more confident and the main reason is that we cut down the offensive playbook in the spring,” Chi said.

The Tigers should improve on defense with the return of first-team all-league defensive back Aidan Adams (5-11, 145) and linebacker Logan Svihovec-McCarty (5-11, 190).

“Aidan is an amazing kid – teams have attacked him this summer and he plays like it’s a chess game,” Chi said. “(Logan) is a brute. He is very aggressive and is playing faster.”

It was a rough season for Jeff Sarceda at La Canada.

After going 6-4 in his first season in 2016, the Spartans failed to win a game last year.

The Spartans figure to be very stout on the offensive line with the return of Eugene Hong (5-10, 215) and John Woodhouse (6-1, 195). Tobias Humphrey (6-2, 160) reeled in 688 receiving yards and his younger brother John turns a lot of heads at wide receiver and defensive back.